, one of my own experiences happened on a day when I felt I might be ready for a life-changing experience. It started out with the usual light and silly activities we do when visiting wards and outpatient clinics – such as performing red nose transplants, having fun with toilet paper and generating lots of laughter. It was getting close to lunchtime when my Clown Doctor partner and I saw the entrance to the intensive care ward. As it had been some time since our last visit, we rang the buzzer to see if they would like a visit. (Clown Doctors always ask permission to enter any ward.)
The buzzer sounded, we opened the door, went up to reception and checked with the secretary who she felt needed a visit. It’s not too busy today she said, so go where you like. We went straight to the nursing station and started massaging the always grateful staff, when I noticed a woman sitting at the bedside of an unconscious three- or four-year-old girl who seemed to be surrounded by as much equipment as you could possibly get around a bed.
We went over to chat with her and walked into one of the saddest situations we have experienced. The woman told us that two days previously her granddaughter was harmlessly sitting on the low front fence of her house when she lost her balance, fell backwards and hit her head on the ground, falling into what turned out to be a deep coma, "just like that". She was airlifted to the children’s hospital, underwent extensive examinations and the doctors sadly informed the family to prepare for the worst.
How amazing, something that 99 times out of a hundred would result in only a bump on the head ended up being so tragic. Her grandmother had been sitting there for two days and she was still there three days later when we saw her again.
"How are things going?" we enquired. "No change," she said, "I have been sitting here for five days praying … I lost my own mother just two weeks ago and I’ll be damned if I am going to lose my granddaughter as well."
We moved around to either side of that bed and started to play the ukulele, making up silly lyrics about her being such a sleepy head when this sleeping little angel’s eyes sprang open and she squeaked out the word mummy!! Medical staff were there in seconds and we had to make ourselves scarce as there were people everywhere!
Over the next two weeks she was moved out of intensive care and into a ward. In the following months she slowly improved her walking and talking, though remained partially paralysed down one side. It would take some time to get over that. Judging by the look on her grandmother’s face though, this was going to be a small price to pay for having her miracle girl back in her arms.
